PATNA: Bihar police felt embarrassed once again when the guns failed to open fire in the salutation of former minister and RJD leader Harinarayan Singh in Bhojpur district.
A video went viral on social media on Thursday showing the guns in the possession of police jawans going dud when the former finance minister's mortals remains were being consigned to flames.
The cops tasked with salutation for the departed leader were taken aback when the guns failed to fire bullets even after repeated attempts. Jagdishpur sub-divisional police officer Shyam Kishore Ranjan, who was present on the occasion, also felt embarrassed.
There has been a tradition of according salute of 21 guns to departed ministers in the state at the cremation ghats. “This is more a customary affair, now,” a senior police officer said, expressing his displeasure over the incident. This is not the first occasion when guns failed to open fire at the cremation ghats.
Earlier, a similar incident had happened at the funeral of former chief minister late Jagannath Mishra with full state honours at his ancestral village Balua Bazar in Supaul district in 2019.